Juice Cleanses That Are Local & Organic
Participating in Juice cleanses may seem like an activity only uptight lettuce heads in Lululemon, pushing strollers can afford… but that is actually not the case! If you add up what you actually spend on food per day, you will see Juice cleanses can be comparable or cheaper (depending on how often you eat out)!
Lets face it, eating like shit makes you feel like shit. Poor diet contributes to depression, fatigue, depression, obesity! Eating unhealthy, “cheaper” foods costs you way more in the long run, in terms of medical visits, co-pays, prescription medications, and other health services. Partaking in a cleanse every few months or adding juice to your daily diet, will transform your life.
The Benefits of Juicing
Juicing gives us the all-important phytonutrients that are necessary for the clean-up and healing process within our bodies. Juicing gives your stomach, gut, and liver a much needed rest. The liver, being our main detoxifying organ, often passes toxins unchecked into general circulation when overloaded. Toxic foods (like saturated fats, refined carbs, pesticide ridden foods), medications, and stress can impair the intestine. Hence, juicing allows food to be assimilated quickly through the intestine — consuming less energy, while the toxin-free, nutrient-dense food helps to repair the gut itself.
By providing the body with super-nutrient dense foods, juicing allows the body to have more of the resources it needs to support the phases of detox, and even to begin to help remove the cumulative toxins stored in the body — 147 industrial chemicals on average in Americans’ bloodstreams (6) with many present in newborns (7). Juicing even helps make repairs down to a cellular level, allowing the mitochondria to create energy without having to fight off a plethora of free radicals and inflammation, reducing some of the impediments to proper DNA functioning.
With that said, Juicing is not for everyone. Check with your healthcare provider first, especially people who are pregnant, underweight, diabetic, have unstable heart disease or low blood pressure, or who have life-threatening health challenges.
Below are three premiere, local, organic Juice cleansing options you can try in the San Francisco Bay Area:
Thistle makes it easy! $69 per day Signature Juice Cleanse/ $345 for 5 days
www.Thistle.co
Thistle’s signature all-juice cleanse is designed to flood the body with the highest quality, organic & plant-based nutrition available. You’ll consume (5) 17 oz juices, (1) 17 oz almond milk, (1) 2 oz ginger shot, and (1) 4 oz glow elixir per day to give you optimal nutrition during the cleanse period. They also offer
Ashwin Cheriyan, CEO and one of the founders says “It is our goal at Thistle to remove all barriers that prevent people from consuming healthy food… It all comes down to convenience.”
What I love about Thistle, is not only do they offer a great juice plan with delicate little bottles that are fun to drink out of (no jar deposit, thank God), they offer incredible food options to continue the cleanse! Their meals are so tasty, and the vegan option comes to $13.80 per meal! You couldnt go the farmers market, source a varied full-balanced mean, cut, cook, and deliver the food yourself for that price!
They make it so easy to juice and eat right!
Juice Shop – $61per day for Beginner Juice Cleanse/ $305 for 5 day + $5 per delivery
www.juiceshop.com
When Charlie Gulick, (oldest brother and Juice Shop co-founder) was diagnosed with a rare liver condition called Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis, he endured 4 years unsuccessful surgeries, misdiagnoses, and was told by doctors he would endure a lifetime of endoscopic procedures and ultimately a liver transplant. Finally, the Gulick family looked for an alternative approach.
At the world-renowned Hippocrates Health Institute, Charlie was placed on a strict regimen of raw vegan food, with an emphasis on detoxification through juicing. The results showed immediately, not only in how he felt (his symptoms had vanished), but in blood analysis as well (his liver functions were back to normal). When he returned home after a six weeks, the entire family decided to support Charlie by going raw and committing to the juicing lifestyle.
After a year of being symptom-free, Charlie’s doctors were nothing short of amazed, calling it a “miraculous recovery.” It’s been close to a decade since he saw the inside of a surgery room and he has never felt better. Today, Juice Shop is three brothers—Charlie, Ben, and Jake—and Charlie’s wife, Lina. We share our story to encourage others to come to us with theirs. And because juicing allowed us to face our own health challenges, we feel better prepared to help others in their paths towards whole health.
JLu Knows Juice – The 9-5 Five-day Juice Cleanse, $595
www.juiceylucys.com
Juicey Lucy’s is the mama bear of Juicing, been around since 1994. Lisa Bach, the juice diva herself, pioneered the original juice truck delivery service and is probably the most knowledgeable juice evangelist I have ever met. Although this is the most expensive service out of the three, this is the only juice company that makes each juice individually crafted.
The 9-5 Five Day Juice Cleanse gets you five 16oz hand-crafted, artisinal juices delivered to your door every morning. Bach is adamant that “ real fresh juice is not to be served in a bottle that has been sitting on a shelf or in a refrigerator. Fresh juice is meant to be enjoyed the same day it was pressed to ensure you benefit fully from its nutrients and to guarantee that it is the most pleasing to your taste palate.”
I must say, JLu really does master the nuances of flavor and these are incredible tasty, unique flavors. They see juice alchemy as a culinary art and we cater to each individual’s needs instead of mass producing juice in an assembly-line style.
Conclusion
As an avid juicer myself, I have noticed exponential effects. When I juice, I find I am satiated with less food than usual, so its easier to naturally lose weight. I feel better (after the coffee/alcohol cessation symptoms subside). I feel fully hydrated, seeing my skin clear up and glow. Mostly, I notice that I have way more energy! Most interestingly, I find when my mind and body start to get clearer, so will other external aspects of my life. Whenever I cleanse, I find myself purging junk I’ve held on to from old drawers. Even relationships around me start to change. I don’t know if its being more forthright or clear with my thoughts and intentions. Juicing is a process requiring integrity, discipline, and commitment: but the results are always… cleansing.
References
1) Kjeldsen-Kragh, J, “Rheumatoid arthritis treated with vegetarian diets” Amer J Clin Nutr Sept 1999;70(3)Suppl:594S-600S
2) Ornish D, Brown SE, et al; “Can lifestyle changes reverse coronary heart disease? The Lifestyle Heart Trial.” Lancet. 1990 Jul 21;336(8708):129-33.
3) Koertge J, Weidner G, …Ornish, D; “Improvement in medical risk factors and quality of life in women and men with coronary artery disease in the Multicenter Lifestyle Demonstration Project.” Am J Cardiol. 2003 Jun 1;91(11):1316-22.
4) http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/
5) Gustavo D Pimentel, et al; “Gut-central nervous system axis is a target for nutritional therapies”, Nutrition Journal 2012, 11:22 doi:10.1186/1475-2891-11-22
6) http://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/
7) http://www.ewg.org/research/body-burden-pollution-newborns
